Wayne county Pharmacist Receives Prison Sentence for $7.2 Million Medicare Fraud
A Wayne County pharmacist has been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating a โmulti-million dollar scheme to defraud Medicare, the Department of Justice announced today. Aliโ Kassem, 38, of Dearborn, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay $7,248,188 in restitution.
Theโฃ fraud centered around Kassem’s operation of Pharmco Pharmacy in Westland, Michigan. Betweenโ January 2016 and December 2019, Kassem submitted false claims to Medicareโฃ for prescriptions that were never filled, for medically needlessโ compounded medications, and โคfor medications dispensed in โquantities exceeding what โฃwas prescribed. This scheme allowed โขKassem to illegally obtainโ over $7.2 million from the federal โฃhealthcare program. The case โขhighlights ongoing federal effortsโ to combat healthcare fraud and protect taxpayer dollars.
According to court documents,Kassem used the fraudulent proceeds to fund aโ lavish lifestyle,including luxury vehicles and real estate. He was convicted โin Novemberโฃ 2023 following a jury trial. “This defendantโฃ exploited the Medicare system forโค personalโ gain, โขdiverting critical resources from legitimate healthcare needs,” said James A.โข Tarasca, โSpecial Agentโค in Charge of theโค FBI Detroit Field Office. “The FBI remains committed to investigating and prosecuting those who seek to defraud our healthcare programs.”
